Florence hosts Kent Denver today

Huskies beat Sun Devils earlier this season; 1 p.m. kick off

Florence -- With four teams remaining in Class 2A's state football playoffs, the Florence Huskies are right where everyone expected them to be -- in the thick of things.

In fact, the top four ranked teams in the classification are still in the playoffs. No. 2-seed Florence (11-1) will host No. 3-seed Kent Denver (11-1) at 1 p.m. today at Palmer Field, 2006 Colo. 67.

At the same time, No. 1-seeded Brush (12-0) will host No. 4 Bayfield (11-0) with the winners meeting in the state championship Dec. 3 at Legacy Stadium at Cherokee Trail High School.

The Huskies know exactly what they're getting in the Sun Devils after beating them 35-20 in the third week of the season. The Sun Devils, who have respectable wins against teams such as 3A semifinalist Silver Creek, are unscathed other than the loss to the Huskies. Kent Denver had Florence on the ropes for nearly three quarters before the Huskies rallied after an hour-long lightning delay to score 29 unanswered points.

Huskies head coach Mark Buderus said what makes the Sun Devils special is their skill-position players. Wide receivers Collins Gantz and Bailey Tills are athletic and can make would-be tacklers look slow and silly.

"They're dangerous when they catch the ball, and they make tough catches, too. They can go up and get it," Buderus said. "Hell, they'd be good in 3A, they'd be good in any division. The best combination of skilled kids as a team, has got to be them.

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Colton Miller and Chace Archer, the Huskies' cornerbacks, along with safety Ryan Hobgood, will be in charge of containing Gantz and Tills. The Huskies also will bring in quarterback Cody Nichols in obvious passing situations to help contain Kent Denver's quickness. Nichols has played defense in just a few games this season, most recently in the team's opening-round playoff win against Buena Vista.

"Sometimes you fight speed with speed," defensive coordinator Jeremy Nix said. "It just gives us a different look in our coverages. It's just something I'm hoping equalizes the playing field better than having a linebacker cover a guy with 4.6 speed."

Archer said he's confident the defense will rise to the occasion against the Sun Devils' potent offense that ranks tops in 2A scoring and has the eighth most scoring in Classes 1-5.

"Last game, we were kind of sitting on our heels at the beginning," Archer said about the Huskies' win against Sun Devils on Sept. 17. "I think we need to get in their faces. We can cover them, we're just as fast."

The Sun Devils scored 20 points in the first quarter against the Huskies when the two met in Englewood earlier this season, but the Huskies settled down and shut down the Sun Devils in the remaining three quarters.

The Sun Devils offense is led by quarterback Matt Florence who has shown the ability to run for yardage, as well as fling it.

The Huskies will look to control the ball on offense, doing what they do so well and moving the chains by running the ball. Nichols ranks 10th in 2A's top rushers list, with teammates Johnnie Krien (20th) and Tyler Faoro (40th) also contributing on offense. Krien is the class' top sophomore in yards and only trails Kent Denver freshman Jaden Franklin (13th) for underclassmen.

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